Kate b



(ModeL) K. E. NICHOLS & E. V. W. HALE now E. V. WHITNEY. INDIVIDUAL HOLDER OR BEST FOR TABLE SERVICE ARTICLES.

WITNEEEEEQ Patented Dec.- .22, 1885.

INVENTETRE.

7 h aflz am 'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KATE E. NICHOLS AND EMMA V. WHITNEY, OF LEOMINSTER, MASS.

INDIVIDUAL HOLDER 0R REST FOR TABLE-SERVICE ARTICLES.

.SPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,082, dated December 22, 1885.

Applicationfiled March 30,1885. Serial No.160,682. (ModeL) To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, KATE E. NICHOLS and EMMA V. WHITNEY, both of Leominster, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Individual Holder or Best for TableService Articles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of our supporting device. Fig. 2 is a view of the same with a knife, a fork, a spoon, and a bundle of tooth-picks supported thereby. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section; Fig. 4, a plan;

Fig. 5, a rear elevation; Fig. 6, aside elevation. Our invention has for its object to provide a device for holding a knife, a fork, and a spoon .for individual use at a dining-table; and our device consists in a stand provided at its top with notches or recesses, in which are located the inner ends of the handles of said articles,

the outer ends of the handles resting on the table or cloth thereon, by which means the articles are compactly and conveniently arranged, ready for use, in their proper relative position, said arrangement of the knife, fork,

and spoon resembling the ordinary stackin which these articles are grouped together and mutually support each other without the aid of any other or auxiliary support, the employment of our holder enabling an individual to remove one article-without scratching'or bending and without affecting the position of the remaining articles incident to their being assembled in the stack referred to; and our invention also consists in the combination, with the aforesaid knife, fork, and spoon holder, of a receptacle or support for tooth-picks, the construction of the device embodying the features of our invention being hereinafter described and specifically claimed.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use our invention, we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out.

In the said drawings, A represents a hollow stand, preferably of sheet metal plated with gold, silver, or nickel, and having upright walls, three of which i.e.,t-he two side walls,

I a a, and rear wall, bbeing flat and located in vertical planes,and the front wall, 0, having a semi-cylindrical surface. The rear wall, b, extends up above the line of the top of the remaining walls, and is cutaway and bent at its centenso as to incline upward and inward toward the front wall. This central cut-away portion serves as a notch or recess, d, for the reception of the upper end of the handle of a spoon, the oval portion thereof at its junction with the handle resting on the inwardly-inclined central portion, while the outer or lower end of the spoon rests on the table-cloth. Each of the sides a a. is also provided with a notch, d, in the left-hand one of which rests the upper or inner end of the handle of a fork, while the right-hand notch, 01, is occupied by the upper end of the knife-handle, the lower end of the fork and the lower end of the knife resting on the table-cloth. The entire line of the top of the stand, including the notches, is provided with a strip of velvet or other soft material, which serves as a cushion or guard, h, to prevent the scratching of the surfaces which would occur were not the top of the metal walls so protected.

Z is a polished plate, secured by rivets m to the inside of the rear wall, I), over the lower edge of the cushion h, said plate being employed to give a finish to the inside of this part of the stand. At the back of and inside of the curved front 0 is located a receptacle, a, formed by avertical partition, a, a closed floor or base, 19, and the front a of the stand, this receptacle being designed for holding tooth-picks.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a holder constructed in accordance with our invention enables the knife, fork, and spoon to be compactly and conveniently located in their proper relative position, ready for use.

The arrangement of these articles of table ware on our improved stand is preferable to grouping them in the ordinary stack, because in the latter the articles are liable to be scratched and bent when assembled together or when separated from each other, besides which the removal of one article from the ordinary stack disturbs the position of the others, as they then become unsupported and fall.

The stand may be made of papier-maeh sheets, or veneer of wood, or other suitable material.

We are aware that aholder for a carving knife and fork has been patented; but it is solely in tended for the use of the carver, and is so made that both the carving knife and fork are wholly supported thereby and rest thereon in a horizontal position, said holder being of a construction widely different from our individual knife, fork, and spoon holder or rest, and not being adapted for the same purposes.

We clai1n 1. As an improvement in table-service ware, a combined knife, fork, and spoon holder or rest for individual use, consisting of the stand A, provided at its top with Vshaped notches or recesses cl (1 (it, within which rest the inner ends of the handles of said articles, the outer ends of the handles resting on the table or cloth thereon, substantially as shown and de scribed.

2. A table-service device for individual use, consisting of a hollow stand, A, having upright walls a a b c, the two side walls, a a, and rear wall, b, being flat and provided with notches d, for supporting a knife, fork, and spoon, and the front wall, a, being curved outwardly and inelosing a tooth-pick receptacle, n, as set forth.

3. The cushion or guard h, in combination with the knife, fork, and spoon holder or notched stand A, as and for the purpose specified.

Witness our hands this 23d day of March, 1885.

KATE E. NICHOLS. EMMA v. WHITNEY.

In presence of STILLMAN HAYNES, SAVILON E. WILDER. 

